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Bold predictions for Kadarius Toney, NY Giants’ rookies in 2021

By Stephen Samra

ORLANDO, FL - AUGUST 24: Kadarius Toney #1 of the Florida Gators scores a touchdown in the first half against the Miami Hurricanes in the Camping World Kickoff at Camping World Stadium on August 24, 2019 in Orlando, Florida.(Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FL - AUGUST 24: Kadarius Toney #1 of the Florida Gators scores a touchdown in the first half against the Miami Hurricanes in the Camping World Kickoff at Camping World Stadium on August 24, 2019 in Orlando, Florida.(Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /
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Elerson Smith, NY Giants
AMES, IA – AUGUST 31: Defensive lineman Elerson Smith #16 of the Northern Iowa Panthers tackles running back Breece Hall #28 of the Iowa State Cyclones as he rushed for yards in the second half of play at Jack Trice Stadium on August 31, 2019 in Ames, Iowa. The Iowa State Cyclones won 29-26 over the Northern Iowa Panthers in triple overtime. (Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images) /

Elerson Smith will have more sacks than all first round pass rushers – aside from Jaelan Phillips

The main gripe with pass rushers in this year’s draft was that many of them were projects. While Azeez Ojulari was arguably considered the most NFL-ready of the group, Giants’ fourth rounder, Elerson Smith, was considered far from that.

The Northern Iowa product was dominant in college, but many questioned his level of competition and his size. Another thing that negatively affected Smith was none of his doing – the FCS postponing their season to the spring.

After his long layoff, it’s a guessing game if Smith’s dominant ability was legit – or an aberration. Still, the upside of his pass rushing prowess was too much for the Giants to pass up.

Playing time may be hard to come by for Smith – but if his abilities shine through, so will the snaps. The Giants passed on Kwity Paye, Gregory Rousseau and Joe Tryon in the first round – while they’re all great talents, they’ll be outshined by the team’s fourth round selection.

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